RCF'S Cavs Guide To The Offseason
Welcome to the NBA offseason, home of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and Aprons.
The offseason will be defined by what the Cavaliers can and can’t do all thanks to the CBA.
NBA reporter Shams Charania recently said the offseason could be the “craziest ever.” Along with that may come the most complicated offseason ever.
The Cavs are entering a new era of cap management as they are set to enter the NBA’s 2nd Apron – a spending threshold with the most restrictive roster building penalties. With any move that is theorized the first question that must be asked is, “Is this 2nd Apron compliant?”
In his postseason press conference, President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman said, “we’ve built and constructed this roster to take those kind of blows [in the 2nd Apron],” and he’s right. While the 2nd Apron is an obstacle it’s a navigable obstacle that requires more creativity and deftness to do so. While it will limit what the Cavs can and can’t do, it doesn’t completely cut off their ability to improve.
So, to prep fans for the upcoming offseason, we’ve put together a handy dandy guide that will attempt to answer many of the questions that arise in this new apron era.
Key Terms
APRONS – Spending thresholds which come with varying levels of transactional restrictions – some of which allow teams to go over aprons, and some of which require full compliance of the aprons.
As of right now, these are the projected apron amounts for the 2025-2026 NBA season:
1st Apron - $195,946,0002nd Apron - $207,825,000
Each apron comes with a set of penalties that teams face when entering them or operating within them. Spotrac’s Keith Smith has the best chart for understanding them all in one place.
Excuse some of the numbers that may be slightly outdated, but all the transactional limitations remain the same.
One of the first question may be: Well can they make moves now before they become a 2nd Apron team?
Yes they can make moves but they still have to be compliant with their 2nd Apron status. So even though they are not officially a 2nd Apron team they have to begin acting like one in any trade. More explained here.
It's also important to know apron status and luxury tax payment amounts are officially calculated at the end of the league year (which is after the Finals, right before the NBA free agent moratorium begins). So while the Cavs may begin the season in the 2nd Apron, they have until the trade deadline to fix that as well as reduce their luxury tax bill.
HARD CAP – When a team executes a transaction that places a spending limit on their roster they cannot exceed.
The NBA has a soft and a hard cap, but certain transactions enact a hard cap. The NBA allows teams to be fluid throughout the various spending thresholds but that changes if they execute a prohibited transaction.
Example: A team in the 1st Apron that aggregates salaries in a trade becomes hard capped at the 2nd Apron threshold meaning they cannot, under any circumstance, exceed the 2nd Apron amount.
As the Cavs work to navigate the apron situation, keep in mind which transactions enact this hard cap – while one move may be compliant, it may also set up a whole other set of issues that prevent the initial move from actually being viable.
AGGREGATION – Combining the salaries of two or more outgoing salaries to match the salary of an incoming player(s), for the purposes of complying with the salary matching rules.
This is a big one. One of the most onerous restrictions that a 2nd Apron team faces is they cannot aggregate salaries via trade.
Example: If the Cavs wanted to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo they would need to aggregate salaries to match his salary since no Cavaliers player makes $54.1M next year. By combining Darius Garland ($39.4M) and Jarrett Allen ($20M) they send out more money than they are bringing in but are doing so by aggregating salaries which is a no-no.
While the Cavs can take in multiple player salaries if they send out one player’s salary, they cannot combine two players’ salaries to match one or more incoming salaries. Said otherwise: If an incoming player cannot make more than an outgoing player, and outgoing players cannot be combined to match that player's salary.
If the Cavs can duck the 2nd Apron, and navigate under 1st Apron rules, aggregating salaries hard caps a team at the 2nd Apron. Why is this important? This means the Cavs cannot go over the 2nd Apron to fill out their roster. The minimum roster size is 14 players. In that scenario, the Cavs must have 14 rostered players and be under the 2nd Apron amount.
EXCEPTIONS – Spending amounts that teams are permitted to use to acquire players while operating over the salary cap.
Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected to be $14.1M)– Accessible to teams over the cap but under the 1st Apron. Teams can sign players to a deal up to 4 years long with a maximum of 5% annual raises. If a team uses this, they are hard capped at the 1st Apron. Additionally, they are only allowed to use the amount of the NTMLE they are under the 1st Apron by (if applicable).
Tax-Payer Mid-Level Exception (projected to be $5.685M)– Accessible to teams who are between the 1st and 2nd Apron. Teams can sign players to a deal up to 2 years long with a maximum of 5% annual raises. If a team uses this, they are hard capped at the 2nd Apron. Additionally, they are only allowed to use the amount of the MLE they are under the 2nd Apron by (if applicable).
There are two other exceptions such as the
Room Exception(accessible to teams under the cap) and the
Bi-Annual Exception(accessible to teams over the cap but below the 1st Apron) that the Cavs will likely not be in the range to utilize this year.
TRADE EXCEPTION – A salary credit that allows teams to bring in an incoming player (or players) for up to the credited amount. These trade exceptions typically expire a year from when they were created.
There are a multitude of different trade exceptions but for the case of the Cavs, there’s two to be mindful of.
Traded Player Exception– The Cavs created a $8.5M exception in the Georges Niang trade last year. They have until February 6, 2026 to use it before it expires. 2nd Apron teams cannot use previously created trade exceptions, and trade exceptions hard cap 1st Apron teams at the 2nd Apron if they use it (same as the other exceptions).
Minimum Salary Exception– This comes into play for aggregation and salary trade matching. In short, if in the 2nd Apron, the Cavs can absorb a veteran minimum player into this exception without it counting against the salary matching rules.
Example: If the Cavs wanted to trade Dean Wade ($6.6M) to the Bulls for Dalen Terry ($5.4M) and Julian Phillips ($2.2M) it would be illegal due to the Cavs being a 2nd Apron team and taking back more money ($6.6M outgoing with $7.6M incoming) then they’re sending out. However, since Phillips is on a minimum deal it could slide into the minimum salary exception and his salary would not be counted for the trade matching rules therefore making it a viable trade for the Cavs since Terry makes less than Wade.
TRADE KICKER – A bonus that a player is eligible to receive should they be traded.
Why is this important? Darius Garland and Evan Mobley have trade kickers.
Garland is eligible to receive a 15% trade kicker should he be traded. Trade kickers are paid by the team trading the player but count for salary matching purposes for the team acquiring the player.
A kicker is a percentage of the remaining guaranteed money left on a player’s deal and is spread out over the remaining years for trade matching purposes. However, a player cannot receive his full trade kicker if it would take him over his maximum allowable salary.
Example: If traded this offseason, Garland has $126,499,530 million of guaranteed money remaining on his deal and thus would be eligible for $18,974,929 million if traded. With three years left, it would be spread over the remaining years for salary matching meaning Garland would technically be accounting for $45,771,066 million in outgoing trades this offseason (and not his $39,446,090 current cap number). But remember: A trade kicker cannot take a player over his maximum salary amount. Garland signed an extension via the Designated Player Extension which provides him a maximum salary of 25% of the salary cap. Garland’s $39,446,090 cap hit in 2025-2026 is already over 25% (per his Designated Player Extension) of the 2025-2026 salary cap of $38.6M, so the trade kicker would be voided.
Yes, a whole lot to talk about something that really won't come into play but just something to be mindful of should it get brought up. Other players have trade kickers too, so it could come into play for acquiring a player.
Note: A player can either waive or amend his trade kicker. Jimmy Butler and Anthony Davis both waived their trade kickers when traded. Zach LaVine and Kyle Kuzma both amended theirs.
INCENTIVES – Bonuses awarded to players based on certain performance metrics. There are two types
Likely To Be Earned(LTBE) and
Unlikely To Be Earned(ULTBE).
An incentive is based on whether a player hit the incentive the year prior. Likely incentives are counted towards a player cap hit for that season. Unlikely are not counted towards the cap hit or in trades for salary matching BUT are counted towards apron calculations.
So why is this important? As the Cavs consider different trade scenarios, both in sending out salary or taking in salary, they must factor in the unlikely to be earned incentives in apron calculations to which their moves must be compliant by.
The caveat within that is the Cavs can take on unlikely to be earned incentives if it pushes them further into the 2nd Apron. But if they duck the 2nd Apron, operate as a 1st Apron team, and make a move that hard caps them at the 2nd Apron, then acquiring a player with unlikely to be earned incentives cannot push them over the 2nd Apron.
The Cavs have two players with unlikely to be earned incentives: Isaac Okoro and De’Andre Hunter.
Hunter - $1,250,000 in ULTBE ($1M if he wins DPOY, $250k if he plays in >= 70 regular season games + wins Finals)
Okoro - $1,527,777 ULTBE (no info on specific terms)
In the case of Hunter: You can see why they are labeled ULTBE incentives although the $250k next year could be an earned incentive if everything goes right.
CONTRACT OPTIONS – Provides either the team or the player the power to choose if they want to renew the contract for another year.
The Cavs have one
team optionthis year and no
player options. The one team option is for Chuma Okeke and if they want to bring him back on a $2.5M salary. Important note about options: They must be exercised before they are traded if the player ia traded before the new league year begins. For Okeke, his team option is due June 29, and the Cavs cannot trade him until July 5.
QUALIFYING OFFER – An offer that provides a safety net scenario for a player to return to a team under a one-year deal (if accepted) but still allows them to sign a deal with a different team. If a qualifying offer is extended, teams can still negotiate a long-term deal. If an qualifying offer is extended, it creates a restricted free agent status which allows the team the right to match any offer.
A qualifying offer can be withdrawn any time up to July 13 by the team, and the player has until October 1 to accept it (unless agreed to extend the deadline).
The Cavs have two players eligible for qualifying offers: Emoni Bates and Luke Travers.
If the Cavs choose to extend the qualifying offer to either player, they will become restricted free agents. If the Cavs choose not to extend a qualifying offer, they will become unrestricted free agents (and no matching authority). They are still eligible to re-sign but are free to sign with any team without a right to match.
In the case of Bates and Travers, since they are coming off a two-way contract the qualifying offer is for a one-year, two-way contract. They can be converted to standard contracts later in the year (cap rules permitting).
For Bates, it’s important to note a player can’t spend more than three years on a two-way contract with the same team. This would be Bates’ third year on a two-way while it would be Travers' second.
TWO-WAY CONTRACT – A contract for a player with fewer than four years NBA experience. A contract can be for one or two years and can’t include an option (team or player). Each NBA team has three slots that does not count against the roster total or team’s salary cap. A player can’t spend more than three total seasons on a two-way contract with the same team. Two-way deals allow for a player to play in both G-League and NBA games (but active for no more than 50 games) and is protected from another team signing them away to an active roster. Two-way players can be traded. 2nd Round picks can be signed to two-way deals. Two-way contracts are fluid throughout the year and can be changed out.
The Cavs already have Nae’Qwan Tomlin for one two-way contract spot with the other two pending for Travers and Bates (if the Cavs elect to bring them back). The Cavs also have two 2nd round picks (#49 and #58) that would be eligible to be on two-way deals.
Last year the Cavs signed J.T. Thor to a two-way deal since he had less than four years NBA experience.
BIRD RIGHTS – A provision that allows teams to go over the salary cap to re-sign their own player. The flexibility in exceeding the cap does vary depending on the length of time a player spends with the team. But all cap rules must be followed (i.e. Bird Rights do not supersede hard caps).
Non-Bird Rights (Javonte Green)– Earned after 1 year and has following restrictions:
Early Bird Rights (Ty Jerome, Tristan Thompson)– Earned after two years and has the following restrictions:
Example: Jerome can be resigned for a 2-to-4-year deal with options beginning in year 3 or year 4 (if desired) with a maximum first year salary of $14.3M and a total contact maximum of ~$64.4M. Since 175% of his previous year’s salary would be just $4.4M, the Cavs will be able to utilize the flexibility of offering up to a first-year salary of 105% of the league average salary in the first year of a deal (which comes out to slightly more than the highest free agent exception in the NTMLE).
Full Bird Rights (Sam Merrill)– Earned after three years and has the following restrictions:
If the Cavs are hard capped at the 2nd Apron, they would not be permitted to exceed the hard cap to resign Jerome or Merrill even with their Bird Rights. Additionally, the amount the Cavs can pay Jerome or Merrill does not change if the Cavs apron status or cap space changes. The maximum the Cavs can pay Merrill and Jerome is locked in via their Bird Rights and cannot change.
LUXURY TAX PENALTIES – The more teams spend over the salary cap, the more the ownership group is taxed. The taxed amount is the difference between the team salary excluding any cap holds, and the luxury tax limit. The new CBA instituted tax brackets that increase the penalties by defined thresholds. There are adjacent transactional penalties the more time spent in the luxury tax but each year there's a bottom line financial penalty to the ownership group.
Here are the tax thresholds for this year:
Example: As it currently stands today, the Cavs are projected to be $29.8M into the luxury tax which would equal a tax bill of $97.9M. If the Cavs were to sign Ty Jerome to a $14.3M contract next year, that additional $14.3M would cost the Cavs an approximate $80M to their luxury tax bill.
The
repeater taxis for a team who has been in the luxury tax for three out of four seasons where the first season is counted when they end that season in the tax.
The Cavs were not a tax team last year so if they are a tax team this year, the repeater clock begins. If they are a tax team in at least two of the following three years after this year, then the repeater status would be confirmed.
There are also more punitive penalties for team’s 2nd Apron teams in general as it relates to draft picks.
If the Cavs end the 2025-2026 season in the 2nd Apron, their 2033 draft pick (or 7 years out as the rule states) would be frozen – it cannot be traded. If a team is in the 2nd Apron for two of the following four season, that pick would be automatically moved to the 2nd of 1st Round (30th overall). The only way to unfreeze the pick is when it becomes mathematically impossible to hit three 2nd Apron years within a five-year span. So, if the Cavs end this coming year in the 2nd Apron, the pick would be unfrozen upon the conclusion of the third year within the next four years of not being in the 2nd Apron.
Why is this important? The Cavs are already limited in what picks they can trade from the Donovan Mitchell deal. Right now, the next 1st Round pick they could trade outright is their 2031 1st Round pick. However, if they stay in the 2nd Apron this season their 2033 pick is frozen which kicks in the Stepien Rule from the backend of their controlled draft assets.
The Stepien Rule, named after infamous Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien, prohibits teams from trading consecutive years draft picks. As of right now, the Cavs can trade their 2031 1st or 2032 1st Round picks up until the trade deadline if they wanted to. However, if they remain in the 2nd Apron they would be limited in only being able to trade their 2031 1st or 2032 1st due to the Stepien Rule since their 2033 1st Round pick would be frozen.
ROSTER LIMITS – A team is not allowed to carry more than 15 rostered players but must have a minimum of 14 rostered players (not counting two-way players). Teams can dip to 12 or 13 players for a limited period (for no more than 2 weeks at a time or more than 28 total days during the regular season).
Koby has tended to prefer opening day rosters at 14-players to preserve trade flexibility going into the year. But this year, they most likely will be at 14-players to preserve financial flexibility being a 2nd Apron team.
It’s important to note the roster limit with respect to the apron rules. As noted, some rules create a hard cap such are aggregating salary in the 1st Apron with a hard cap at the 2nd Apron. Roster limits are important because a hard cap cannot be exceeded and all rostered players, including unlikely to be earned incentives, must be accounted for in that limit.
The Cavs are currently at 11 rostered players. As it stands, the Cavs will need to fill three of those spots to meet roster compliance. So, while the Cavs are currently $12.8M over the 2nd Apron in actuality it could be closer to $19.7M when accounting for three veteran minimum salary slots (of 2+ years’ experience or more).
-------------------
Key Dates
Day After Last Game of NBA Finals: Each NBA team may begin negotiating with upcoming free agents who finished the completed season on its roster.
June 25-26: 2025 NBA Draft.
June 29: Last day for a team or player option to be exercised (for upcoming year). Last day for a player to receive a Qualifying Offer.
June 30: Each NBA team may begin negotiating with all other upcoming free agents (beginning at 6:00PM ET).
July 1: First-round picks can sign contracts. Minimum contracts (two years or fewer) can sign. Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet. Third-and fourth-year rookie options can be exercised. Offer sheets can be extended to players. Two-way contracts can be signed and converted. Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet.
July 6: Teams can officially sign free agents. Trades can become official. Rookie scale and veteran contracts can be extended. Clock on offer sheets begins.
July 10-20: Las Vegas Summer League.
July 13: Last day to withdraw a Qualifying Offer.
October 18: Last day to waive a player on a non-guaranteed contract and not incur a salary cap charge.
October 20: Last date to sign a rookie scale or veteran extension (if more than one season is left. If a player has an option, he is allowed to extend up until June 30, 2026). Last day a player can sign a Designated Veteran Extension. Last day to sign-and-trade a free agent. Last day a player with an Exhibit 10 contract can be converted to a two-way. Rosters set for NBA opening day.
September 30: Training camp begins for Cavs.
October 1:
October 2: NBA Preseason begins.
October 21: Regular Season begins.
October 31: Third-and fourth-year team options on rookie contracts must be exercised.
Cavs Salary Cap Table
Cavs Draft Picks
Trades
Everyone’s favorite scenarios made a little less fun due to C.J. McCollum, the owners and the CBA.
There are several rules the Cavs and other teams must both follow while conducting trades. The Cavs are currently in the 2nd Apron. These rules apply to the Cavs so long as they would remain in the 2nd Apron at the conclusion of any trade.
2nd Apron
Now if the Cavs begin and end the trade in the 1st Apron or begin the trade in the 2nd Apron but end it in the 1st Apron, these rules apply.
1st Apron
Moves with the asterisk represent scenarios where if those moves are completed a team is hard capped at the 2nd Apron. Remember: Teams that become hard capped cannot exceed the hard cap under any circumstance and must have 14 rostered players under the hard cap.
As the Cavs 2nd Apron status is bandied about, there will be several scenarios suggested. One of which is dumping salary to a team that can accept it. That can be accomplished in one of three ways
Teams can accept a player into their NTMLE and TMLE if they choose but their incoming salary cannot exceed either allotted amount. So if the Cavs wanted to dump Isaac Okoro into the Pistons NTMLE they could. The Cavs would not need a player back but they would need some type of asset -- whether it's a heavily protected pick or a foreign player that'll never come over. For the other team, it's essentially like they signed that player with their exception (and all corresponding rules apply).
That also takes us into the salary matching portion of the article. While the Cavs have to follow these apron rules, and so do other teams, not every team is in the apron. But, that doesn't mean there still aren't trade rules. Teams in the 1st and 2nd Apron cannot take back more money than they send out -- not a cent more. But, things lighten up for other teams.
For teams over the Salary Cap but under the 1st Apron
And for teams under the salary cap:
So it's important to note that while a deal may work for the Cavs, it also has to work for the other team. Keeping in mind aprons, hard caps, roster limits and salary matching rules are all important items when trying to find viable trades.
Free Agency
Either way, the Cavs do not figure to be players in free agency due to restrictions of both the 1st and 2nd Apron. Unless something unforeseen happens, the Cavs are most likely limited to veteran minimum signings.
There is one caveat: To flatten competition for minimum level signings, and to dissuade teams from signing cheaper, younger options, any player with 2+ years of NBA experience counts against the cap the same as a player with 2 years’ experience does.
For example: The Cavs signed Tristan Thompson to a veteran minimum contract last year. In having 13 years of service, he was paid $3,303,771. But, as the rule follows, only counted against the cap as a player of 2 years’ service would -- $2,087,519.
Keep in mind these rules for each of the aprons in free agency.
2nd Apron
1st Apron
- Cannot sign a buyout player who made more than the NTMLE on their previous contract
- Only has access to the Taxpayer MLE ($5.685M)*
- Can sign internal players to contracts according to their status (Non-Bird, Early Bird, Full Bird, etc.)
- Can sign draft picks
- Can sign undrafted free agents
The asterisk represents a scenario in which a team in the 1st Apron would be hard capped at the 2nd Apron if using the exception. Keep in mind: Since using the exception hard caps a team, they cannot use that exception to go over the 2nd Apron hard cap.
Example: If the Cavs entered the 1st Apron and wanted to use the TMLE but were only $3M under the 2nd Apron. They would only be allowed to use $3M of the TMLE, even though it’s worth $5.685M, since using it would hard cap them at the 2nd Apron.
Other Offseason Articles
Evaluating A New Ty Jerome Contract
Further Reading
Keith Smith at Spotrac, Yossi Gozlan at the Third Apron and Bobby Marks at ESPN will be your best friends for all cap compliance need-to-knows.
Spotrac has one of the best salary cap spreadsheets (and most accurate) next to Yossi’s.
SalarySwish also has a ton of helpful CBA related information in digestible formats along with navigable salary cap spreadsheets.
HoopsRumors is a great resource for breaking down the CBA as is Larry Coon’s CBA FAQ.
